Star Trek: The Experience
Star Trek: The Experience is a permanent Star Trek-themed attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, containing shops styled after the Deep Space 9 promenade, a restauraunt styled after Quark's Bar and Grill, The History of the Future Museum (which is a large collection of props and artifacts), and the Klingon Encounter and Borg Invasion 4D rides. The store is the largest Star Trek themed store in the world. The Experience also plays host to parties, receptions, weddings, scheduled events, and conventions. Those who wish to hold their wedding can have it in Starfleet uniform on the bridge of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise-D]], with Star Trek aliens such as Ferengi and Klingons as witnesses. Storyline The two action rides at Star Trek: The Experience uniquely combine ride simulators, accurately detailed sets, special effects and live actors to make its guests truly feel they are actually in the Trek universe. Klingon Encounter WARNING: Contains spoilers. Initially, a group of about twenty visitors enter a rather confining room. (The exact number of participants varies, as friends and family are unlikely to split.) Once inside the room, one of the ride directors begins speaking about the Experience and seems to be intentionally making it sound unexciting. During this initial lecture, a small device displays scenes from several Star Trek movies. The group enters the next room, and the lights go out. Dozens of small round flashes flicker thru the darkness to simulate the "transporter effect", accompanied by the transporter sound effect and a rush of cold air. When the lights return, the walls and floor have changed to a transporter pad. The transporter room is supposedly on the USS Enterprise-D, and the layout is not very unlike the usual transporter room as seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, although the transporter platform is much bigger to have enough room for the visitors. On the transporter pad, a Starfleet officer asks who are the leaders of the group. After the two ride directors acknowledge they are in charge, the Starfleet officer orders them to leave. He then explains that the visitors were beamed aboard the Starship Enterprise and are in "what you would call the future". He then requests the group to follow him to the Bridge. On the bridge, a crewmember explains that Captain Jean-Luc Picard disappeared the moment the group beamed aboard the Enterprise; they explain that one group member must be Picard's ancestor, and that a group of rogue Klingons, led by Korath, have intentionally altered the timeline to eliminate Picard. The group stands in the rear between the science stations and the tactical station. Although the three chairs that (from port to starboard) Counselor Deanna Troi, Picard, and Commander William Riker usually occupy are empty, that is only visible if one ventures to look over the semicircular counter that houses the tactical station. There are various crewmembers on the bridge during this time, and they contact Commander Riker, who promptly appears on the viewscreen. He explains that a group of rogue Klingons, led by Korath, transported your group to the future because one of you is an ancestor of Captain Picard. The plan was to kill the group, and prevent Picard's existence. He then explained that your group is to board a shuttlecraft to escape the ship, and go through a temporal rift, which should return all guests to their original time, and restore the existence of Captain Picard. While the group is in the turbolift, the Klingons attack the Enterprise. There is a malfunction and the turbolift enters a free fall (which is obviously simulated). There are several jolts on the turbolift during the attack. Finally, the group arrives at the shuttle bay deck along a large section of corridor. The group then lines up to board the shuttlecraft. Each line corresponds to a row of seats in the shuttle, so people in the same line will sit in the same row. The shuttle ride begins with a battle between the Enterprise and a few Klingon vessels. Then, the shuttle goes into warp for three seconds and drops out in the rings of a planet. The shuttle is then instructed to find a cloaking generator on the planet's surface, which it does. There are several dogfights during this time. The shuttle then returns through the temporal rift to present-day Las Vegas. A Klingon ship also follows, and locks a tractor beam on the group's shuttle. "It's over, humans!" Korath explains. "But take heart, today is a good day to die!" All of a sudden, a very familiar voice responds, "If you say so, Korath..." The Klingon ship then explodes in front of you as the Enterprise flies triumphantly through the ship's destruction, complete with Goldsmith-esque fanfare. Then, the shuttle lands at the Las Vegas Hilton and the ride ends, right next to the "motion simulators" the visitor supposedly were waiting to enter when they were "beamed off" while waiting in line, at the start of the story. Before the crew of the Enterprise leaves, Captain Picard opens a comminique to the shuttle and thanks the group for "restoring his existence." He says, and we quote, "While only one of you is my ancestor, each of you holds that same opportunity for the future. Guard it well." The shuttle door opens, and there is a custodian behind it. He explains that the shuttle fell through the floor and that the group is in a restricted area, and they must leave immediately. The custodian leads the group to an elevator and then out to the Deep Space 9 Promenade and Quark's Bar and Restaraunt. :Several faithfully-recreated locales comprise this ride, including the ''Enterprise transporter room, bridge, and a shuttle bay. The bridge - complete with animated controls and working viewscreen - can be rented for private functions, such as weddings.'' :In 2004, several of the sets were compressed or rearranged to make room for its sister attraction, ''Borg Invasion 4D.'' Borg Invasion 4D WARNING: Contains spoilers. This ride takes groups of about forty people at a time. They enter a briefing room aboard the Starfleet science research facility Copernicus Station The briefing room has a large viewscreen in the front beyond a podium upon which several Starfleet personnel stand. There is also a Starfleet officer on the opposite side of the room. On the screen, The Doctor from the USS Voyager appears and greets the group. He explains that the group has been selected to undergo medical testing because some of the members are immune to Borg nanotechnology (which he "detected" when the group entered the room). In the middle of his presentation to the guests, the Doctor is interrupted by one of the station administrators. She says that they've detected a ship approaching the station at high warp. Since it doesn't respond to communications, the station goes to Yellow Alert (as you see the lights dim around you.) The administrator says that they will postpone the medical testing until this possible threat is dealt with. When the tactical officer of the station has a visual, the administrator says, "Let's see it." Lo and behold, in all it's grim glory, it is a full size Borg Cube that slowly and ominously approaches the station. The officers in the room and the Doctor all share the same grim expression, knowing that difficult times are ahead. The station goes to Red Alert (with the lights around you now flashing red) and the administrator orders to open fire on the cube, as you feel the ground shake beneath you and as you hear Phasers and Quantum Torpedoes thunderously leave the station. The Cube looks to sustain heavy damage, but it fires a projectile, and all the lights go dark, not before hearing a large amount of static. Then, all as one, the dreaded automota speak. "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is Futile." The viewscreen comes back online, and the Doctor checks in with a young security officer. When the Doctor asks if he's alright, the officer says, "For now. There's an extraordinary amount of damage down here. Sir, the Borg have entered the facility. The station's being overrun." The Doctor then tells all the guests to get to the nearest escape shuttle while there's still time. As he is about to end the transmission, you see a group of Drones enter behind him. The Doctor proceeds to fire a phaser, and you see one of the medical technicians injected with Borg nanoprobes as his skin turns ghastly white, and his veins turn black. A security officer enters the room, and leads the group to the next room: a corridor that looks severely damaged. As the group is in the corridor, a Borg drone appears to move towards the group, but turns instead to examine an LCARS computer panel. The Starfleet officer tells us that he poses no threat at the moment, then the door the officer is standing in front of opens and a drone pulls him into a turbolift as he screams and yells at the group to save themselves. At the opposite end of the room is an officer on an elevated station. He proceeds to try and open the next door, but instead shoots out the panel with his phaser, as the drone that was examining the computer console moves towards the group. That drone is elminiated, but as the door to the shuttle opens, an unseen drone pulls the technician up from the ceiling as he screams. The group then enters a room that purports to be an escape vessel. Everyone picks up 3-D goggles ("Safety glasses") and sits down. The shuttle takes off from the station, but is pulled inside the Borg Cube. The front of the shuttle is blown open (utilizing 3D effects) and small Borg probes enter the shuttle and spray the group with nanoprobes. You feel them in your skin (by way of motion prods under your seats) as the Borg Queen appears. She begins lecturing about the perfection of the collective and tells you to surrender your inhibitions and join the hive mind. At that moment, the Doctor projects himself into the hallucination, telling the group to fight it. "You are resistant to assimilation! Fight it! We're coming for you, Help is on the..." He then cuts out. The group, now out of the hallucination, listens to The Queen as she begins lecturing, purporting that no one has ever resisted assimilation. Then, another communication enters the ship and a female voice says, "Maybe it's time I reintroduce myself." The Queen looks abashed. "Janeway!" She screams. Admiral Kathryn Janeway appears on two side viewscreens as we see the USS Voyager burst through the far side of the Cube as the shuttle's force field activates around the blown off area of the front. Janeway exchanges quips with the Queen. "Stand aside, I've come to take these people home." "You're a fool Janeway, there will always be more drones!" The Queen yells. "Soon, this ship, and everything in it will be destroyed!" "Don't bet on it." Janeway says, as Voyager fires phasers on the Queen's position. She appears to beam out before she could be destroyed. Janeway then orders, "Fire Quantum Torpedoes!" Voyager obliges, and leaves the cube in shambles as she locks her tractor beam on the group's shuttle, and we are then treated to the magnificent explosion of the Borg Cube as it is defeated by the Federation. As the shuttle docks back at the original station, Janeway says to the group, and we quote, "Congratulations. You've defeated the Borg with one thing the Queen can never assimilate: the human spirit. As long as we have that, resistance will never be futile." The theme to the Voyager television show then plays, and you are directed to exit at your right. Effects include droplets of water, wind bursts, minor motion, and jabbing of the occupants—in the back and under the legs—through their chairs. (Though mild, the sensation can be startling.) Links and References Cast Klingon Encounter *Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker *LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge *Vaughn Armstrong as Korath *Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard (voice only) *Debra Wilson as computer voice Borg Invasion 4D *Robert Picardo as The Doctor *Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway *Alice Krige as the Borg Queen References Klingon Encounter 2371; Klingon Bird-of-Prey; Las Vegas; time travel; turbolift; [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)]] Borg Invasion 4D 2379; assimilation; Borg drone; quantum torpedo; [[USS Voyager|USS Voyager]] External Links *Star Trek: The Experience *Las Vegas Hilton